Thursday, 4 December 2025

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:24): (1178) My question is for the Minister for Environment, represented in this place by the Minister for Skills and TAFE. In your own department’s 2023 regulatory impact statement for Victoria’s waste-to-energy cap and cap licensing, it is noted that increased waste-to-energy capacity will reduce the government’s waste levy revenue. Their modelling projected that over 27 years, with a 2 million-tonne cap on waste to energy, waste levy revenue would decrease by $2.836 billion and waste-to-energy operator revenue would increase by $7.453 billion. For the Sustainability Fund, which collects most of Victoria’s waste levy, this means less funding for recycling initiatives and programs to help deal with climate change. Now the waste-to-energy cap is at 2.5 million tonnes can the minister advise how this will decrease waste levy revenue and increase waste-to-energy operator revenue?

 Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Water) (12:25): I thank Ms Payne for her question. It will be referred to the Minister for Environment. And again, can I thank her for her ongoing interest in waste-to-energy matters.

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:26): I thank the minister for referring that on. By way of supplementary, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Report on the Annual Financial Report of the State of Victoria: 2024–25 showed that the balance of the Sustainability Fund had ballooned from $66.8 million at 30 June 2022 to $545.7 million at 30 June 2025. Now, this fund is responsible for collecting most of Victoria’s waste levy and is meant to fund recycling initiatives and other programs to help deal with climate change. Yet increasingly, this money is not being spent. So my question is: why is this money sitting in the Sustainability Fund instead of being used to help deal with climate change and funding recycling initiatives?

 Gayle TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Skills and TAFE, Minister for Water) (12:27): Again, I thank Ms Payne for her supplementary. It will be referred to the Minister for Environment for a response.